This Saturday is National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. At sites across the region, you will be able to hand in unwanted, unused prescription drugs. During the last Drug Take-Back-Day, Americans dropped off more than 118 tons of unwanted and expired medications for safe disposal. The drop-off centers will be open from 10:00 a.m. to [...]
Chronically homeless men and women with severe alcohol problems who were allowed stay in a housing project–even if they kept drinking–reduced their alcohol intake significantly over a two-year period.
Because of this sudden increase in deaths, health officials are issuing a public alert about the overdose danger and are working with partners to analyze the heroin and identify possible reasons for the sudden increase in deaths.
One in seven of U.S. surgeons reported drinking habits consistent with alcohol abuse or dependence, according to a new survey by UW researchers. Drinking problems were even higher among women surgeons of whom one in four, 25.6 percent, reported drinking habits consistent with abuse or dependence.
Washington ranked fourth highest nationally in per-capita prescribing of methadone in 2006 (the most recent year for which reliable data is available) and 11th for oxycodone — the two biggest killers.
The National Insitutes of Health has issued an 8-page guide to help you pick the right drug abuse treatment program. The booklet, Seeking Drug Abuse Treatment: Know What to Ask, says there are five key questions you should ask about a program:
If you are prescribed one of these drugs, the provider who dispenses the drug to you is required to supply the system with your name, address, date of birth, the name of the prescribed drug and doctor who prescribed it, and where you picked it up.
The products, which have been available in a variety of local retail shops, including smoke and “head” shops, as well as over the Internet contain stimulants and synthetic cannabis-like chemicals that have a “high potential” for abuse and harm to health, officials say.
Seattle Times health coverage: Parents debate vaccine safety at CDC forum in Shoreline, Hutch win $20 million grant to seek stem cell HIV cure, Harborview praised for innovative drug intervention program.
The number of people dying in King County from prescription-type opiate overdoses dropped for the first time in a decade, down from 161 in 2009 to 130 in 2010.
Young people in romantic relationships during two years after high school are less likely to report heavy drinking and marijuana use.
Beating the addiction to smoking will bring you a multitude of benefits.
LocalHealthGuide is a health news and information web service for Seattle and the Puget Sound Region. We are independent and unaffiliated with any hospital, medical association or insurer. If you have questions or if your group has an upcoming event that you would like us to cover, please let us know by going to our "Contact Us" page and dropping us a note. -- Michael McCarthy, Editor
View Calendar
✔ Subscribe
Add to Google
Seattle Times Health News
Lost in translation: Lack of trained interpreters can lead to medical errors
Interpreter services at hospitals and other medical settings are often inadequate, forcing family members, including children, to step in, or the task falls to medical staff members who may not speak the language well.
Some insurers deny ER coverage to people who have been drinking
Laws in more than half the states permit insurers to deny payment for medical services related to alcohol or drug use. Faced with the prospect of not getting paid for care, some ER personnel sidestep the problem by simply not testing patients’ blood or urine for alcohol.
Travel insurance can protect your wallet — and your health on vacation
Think your regular health insurance policy will cover you if you get into medical trouble overseas?
Don’t bet on it.
Recent Comments